The Biological Approach

Question 1

What is the Biological Approach?

Answer 1

• Suggests that everything psychological is at first biological, so to fully understand human behaviour, we must look to biological strucutres & processes within the body

biological persepctive-mind lives in the brain-all thoughts behaviour etc have a physical basis
In contrast to cognitive approach which sees mental processes from mind as sperate from physical brain

Question 2

What are the biological explanations?

Answer 2

• Brain structure & neurochemisry
• Geneotypes and phenotypes
• Evolution

Question 3

What is neuro chemistry?

Answer 3

• Refers to the action of chemicals in the brain

Question 4

What has the neurochemical basis of behaviour got to do with the biological approach?

Answer 4

• Much of our thought & behaviour relies on chemical transmission in the brain
• This occurs using neuro transmitters
• An imbalance of neurochemicals in the brain has been implicated as a possible cause of mental illness

e.g. low levels of neurotransmitter serotonin in OCD

Question 5

Evaluate the behaviour through brain structures & processes.

Answer 5

• The case of Phineas Gage shows that when frontal lobes are damaged, people can become more aggressive than they were before

This study show the high validity of the biological approach in explaining behaviour in terms of brain structure and function.

Question 6

What are genes?

Answer 6

• Pieces of code that carry instructions for a particular characteristic
• e.g hair colour,personality type

Question 7

What is a persons genotype?

Answer 7

• The particular set of genes that a person possesses

Question 8

What is a persons phenotype

Answer 8

• The characteristics of an individual determined by both genes & the environment

Question 9

How do genotypes work?

Answer 9

• A person may have a gene that predisposes them to a behaviour or characterisitic
• But it doesnt necessarily indicate that particular characteristic or behaviour will come out

Question 10

How do phenotypes work?

Answer 10

• Whether that behaviour or characterisitc is expressed depends on the interaction of genes with other genes & or the environment

Question 11

Why may twins have 100% same DNA but have different personalitys?

Answer 11

• Despite having the same genes (genotype)
• The phenotype is different

This illustrates why many biological psychologists would accpet that much of human behaviour depends on interaction between nature & nurture

Question 12

Give an example of a family study to do with genes.

Answer 12

• Obsborne & West
• Compared sons of criminal & non criminal fathers
• 13% of sons of non-criminal fathers had criminal convictions
• Compared w 40% of sons of criminal fathers

Question 13

Give another family study to do with genes.

Answer 13

• Studies of schizophrenia patients & their families show that the more closely a person is related to a schizophrenia patient the greater their own risk of developing the disorder
• Concordance rate for a parent & child having schizophrenia is 14%, compared to a 1% rate in the population.

Question 14

Evaluate the genetic basis for behaviour.

Answer 14

• Can make some predictions about a person’s behaviour based on their genes
• But can not say that genes will always cause a certain behaviour. Reduces the strength in applying findings to explain behaviour
• To focus solely on genes is biologically reductionist

Question 15

What is evolution?

Answer 15

• The changes in inherited characterisitcs in a biological population over successive generations

Question 16

What is the main principle of the evolutionary explanation?

Answer 16

• Any genetically determiend behaviour that enhances an individuals survival (& reproduction) will continue in future generations
• i.e to be naturally selected

Question 17

What is meant by the concept of ‘fitness’ in evolution?

Answer 17

• About how well an organism is adapted to its environment
• Fit organisms are more likely to survive into adulthood than unfit ones
• More likely to mate & have offspring
• They pass on their genes to the next generation

Question 18

Give one strength of the Biological Approach.

Answer 18

• OS is that the BA has real world application
• Increased understanding of neurochemical processes in the brain is associated w the use of psychoactive drugs to treat serious mental disorders
• e.g. BA has promoted treatment of clinical depression using anti-depression drugs, drugs that increase levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin at synapses in the bran

Means people w depression may be able to manage their condition & live a relatively normal life.

Question 19

Give another strength of the Biological Approach.

Answer 19

• It uses scientific methods of investigation
• In order to investigate the genetic & biological basis of behaviour, the biological approach makes use of a range of precise & highly objective methods
• These include scanning techniques such as fMRIS & EEGS
• With advances in tech it is possible to accurately measure physiological & neural processes in ways that are not open to bias

Means that much of the biological approach is based on objective & reliable data

Question 20

Give one limitation of the Biological Approach.

Answer 20

• OL is that it is determinist
• In that it sees human behaviour as governed by internal genetic causes over which we have no control
• However, we have already seen that the way in which an individuals genotype (phenotype) is expressed is heavily influenced by the environment
• Not even identical twins who share same genes look & think the same
• Could a violent criminal reallt explain their actions by claiming their actions was controlled by a crime gene?

This suggests that biological view is often too simplistic and ignores the mediating effects of the environement